32 Lake Crescent
This impressive house was built by Frederick Percival Toms in 1928 within the Crescent Point subdivision launched in Mimico in 1910.
Born in Barrie Ontario on April 15, 1885 he was the son of Frederick Toms, a contractor and Minnie E. Reddie. His brother Charles Godfrey Toms was born on September 30, 1886 in London, Ontario. The two brothers would never marry and would be inseparable throughout their lives.
In February 1895 their father, based in Ottawa, died in Victoria, British Columbia from pneumonia while there on business. He was only 45 years of age. His remains were transported back to Ottawa and buried in Beechwood Cemetery. Sometime later their widowed mother moved the family to Toronto and they can be found there in the 1901 census living at 60 Spencer Avenue in Parkdale. Fred was working as a clerk for Massey-Harris Co on King Street West.
Both brothers excelled in athletics when they were young.
Charles - "Chad" was his nickname at university - was on the hockey and rugby teams. He would play for the Argonauts and was captain of the hockey team in 1908 when he graduated with a degree in civil engineering (Bachelors degree in Science).
That same year his older brother Fred, a member of the Argonaut Club, represented Canada at the 1908 Olympics in London, England and won a bronze medal in rowing.
In the 1911 census the family was still living together at 56 Spencer Avenue in Parkdale but Fred was listed as the head of the family and not his mother suggesting that he was the main support for the family. Fred had moved on from being a clerk at Massey-Harris and was now selling cars and Charles was working as a civil engineer. Both indicated that they earned $1,800 in 1910. Given that their father had died I wonder if Fred worked in order to put his brother through university?
It was probably around this time, though the timing is uncertain, that Charles started his own civil engineering firm - Toms Contracting Company Ltd. Later his brother Fred would join him in the business.
The earliest reference I was able to find for the company was in late 1912 in a publication of the University of Toronto Engineering Society. The publication references that Charles was the general manager and the business address given is the family home on Spencer Avenue.
Their mother died of a stroke on November 4, 1913 and was also buried at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa and it appears that the family dispersed at that time.
By 1915 the brothers were based at 15 Rusholme Road. Charles operated Toms Contracting Co. Ltd. from the home. The home also served as the headquarters of Fred's business the Automobile and Supply Co.
In August 1918 Charles was drafted into the Canadian military and was placed in the Canadian Engineers division with the rank of Sapper. Given this late date he never went to Europe and was discharged from the military on November 28, 1918. However, his military file does contain some interesting information. It indicates that he broke his nose in 1907 and that surgery was required. I wonder if this happened during one of his sporting events? Either hockey or rugby?
In the 1921 census the two brothers were living together at 47 Duggan Avenue in Forest Hill. The census indicates that they were the owners of the house so their construction company must have been doing well.
Toms Contracting Co. Ltd. was well known in the industrial building community of Toronto and district in the early 20th century. While certainly not a comprehensive list I found references to the following projects the company worked on:
- 1916 - Awarded the contract for additions to the Chevrolet Motor Co. plant in Oshawa, Ontario
- 1916 - Awarded the contract to build the factory for the Dominion Abrasive Wheel Co. Ltd. in Mimico at a cost of approximately $65,000
- 1917 - Awarded the contract to build a power house for the Provincial Government Department of Public Works at Jordan Harbour, Ontario
- 1919 - Awarded the contract to build the Mimico Creek bridge for the Toronto-Hamilton Highway (Highway #2) for the Toronto Hamilton Highway Commission
- 1922 - Awarded the contract for the J. R. Baxter Co. Ltd. factory in Brockville, Ontario at a cost of $50,000
- 1927 - Awarded the contract to construct a new paperboard mill for Dominion Envelope and Cartons Ltd. in the port lands on the Toronto waterfront on the west side of Cherry Street for a building "in the neighborhood of 700 feet in length".
- 1930 - Awarded the contract to build the new home for the Dominion Automobile Company at Bay and St Joseph's Streets, Toronto
On April 19, 1928 Fred P Toms bought Lot 104, Plan M-328 on the north side of Lake Crescent from Florence Agnes Spencer of Stratford for $1,650. He must have started construction on the house shortly thereafter because almost a year later Toms mortgaged the property to Minnie Chadwick of Mimico for $9,000.
Given the quality of the design of the house there must have been a talented architect behind it but their name is currently unknown.
The brothers first appear at this address (then 10 Lake Crescent) in the 1931 Toronto City Directory suggesting that they were living in their new house by late 1930. They would live there for the next 17 years.
Charles died at home in March 1947 and his obituary appeared in the Globe and Mail. It did however contain a mistake. It was his brother Fred who was at the 1908 Olympic Games.
Obituary of Charles G Toms
Globe and Mail - March 18, 1947
On April 15, 1947, about a month after his brother's death Fred sold the house to Edwin Arthur Jarrett, Chartered Accountant of Mimico for $16,500.
Eventually, Fred P Toms moved to Newmarket, Ontario and died there on June 25, 1965. He was buried at Park Lawn Cemetery with his brother.
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